January 2026 Update 🖤
not so much an update as a check-in
Hello and happy (?) new year everyone 🖤
I almost wasn’t going to post a newsletter this month because I genuinely don’t have anything publishing-related to update anyone on, and I’ve also taken a break from my writing social media accounts. But in light of a lot of horrific things happening in our our world and in our country (if you’re a U.S. American) I thought I could check in just to at least be a friendly presence in your inbox during this dark time.
It was a conscious choice for me to stay logged out of Instagram, Blue Sky, and Threads (which I joined and maybe only made 3 posts for) this month because towards the end of 2025 social media started feeling like a big time waster. As I mentioned in my last newsletter, I don’t like viewing January as the time to get my sh*t together and approach all my goals for the year at full-speed. January for me is a time of reset, hibernation, and preparation. It’s a time where I need to get away from the noise of the world (and too many people’s opinions, often negative, about writing and the publishing industry) and I felt so tired in December that I also wanted to give myself a break after the holiday season.
That’s not to say January has been a slow, comfortable month for me.
It’s been a rough one, not just because of the news but also because of things in my personal/professional life and also just physically going through it, which is why it’s been nice to be able to at least not worry about social media and spend more time caring for my heart, my brain, and my body. I’ve also spent more time playing video games, reading, and watching movies—which felt impossible for me last year to do while working on my books and short stories.
Somehow, just taking away one thing that had my daily attention for a couple hours allowed me to focus on and complete a lot of other things in my day—and that further reinforces my instinct to stay away from social media until I have a book to sell or promote. I think there are people are good at balancing all their work and posting on social media all day and somehow having a life outside of that, but that’s not me—especially when I’m a perfectionist, social media algorithms work against BIPOC and LGBT accounts—so despite having 300 followers (or a lot more on bsky) my posts usually get less than 10 notes in return for 2 hours of work just putting them together—and I’m not willing to pay $20 for a single post to get slightly more visibility when I don’t have a book I’m selling right now.
TLDR; I don’t need social media at the moment.
I have stayed on my personal socials, though, and I feel like I have better balance with keeping up with my personal group of friends and family, spending more time having fun outside in the real world (I did a couple fun travels this month to spend time with family and friends), and somehow I’ve managed to stay productive with my writing, read more, play more video games, and still make progress on my health goals despite a couple injuries this month. So I’ve been very busy but also more productive, which has been great.
My final edit of Black Widow WIP is 25% complete and it’s very exciting! I’m done giving myself deadlines for that project because I want to be kinder to myself and only launch that book into the querying trenches when I feel it’s done. Taking my time with these final edits has actually felt good. I love this book. I’m proud of it. Can’t wait to finish it, but I’m so happy with how it’s turning out as a final product.
This month I finished reading Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton Walker, I’m currently reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë for the first time so I can prepare to watch the new film coming out next month (I’ve watched previous movie versions but didn’t really like any of them, so I’m wondering if the book might hold a different appeal 😅), and I have an audio book on hold for Tim Curry’s autobiogaphy, Vagabond, which should be arriving on my libby app any day now.
On the non writing side of things, I was back in Las Vegas for exactly 22 hours to go see Zayn on the opening night of his residency with my sister 🖤 It was a fun time, and knowing how to do Vegas right after my experience last June and with nice cool winter weather instead of 105+ heat every night, there was a bit less anxiety on my trip this time haha
This newsletter was short, but hopefully it was fun just to check in with me a bit! Originally, I planned on staying away from social media just for a month or two, but I really enjoyed being out of the loop while still managing to be productive with my writing and reading at the same time. Honestly if I do manage to get my books published one day, I hope to be one of those writers with a more obscure presence on social media who is only active to promote their books/events and then disappears again to go live life and then come back with another banger of a book haha
Anyway, feel free to chat in the comments with me or at any time to let me know how you’re doing, what books you’re reading, or what writing you are working on (if you’re a fellow writer) 🖤
See you in February!
-Jazmin
Hi Jazmin,
Taking breaks is good for the mind and soul. You asked about writing life. I'm still not back to my usual routine, but I am taking online classes through Manuscript Academy on submission strategies. My current manuscript (Love Spells for Locas) is with an editor until late Feb., and then it's all about revising based on her notes.